Help! Do We Need Visas?

[MRA]

Hi,

Does anyone know what we should do?

I'm a a 32-year-old Finnish woman and my boyfriend is 24-year-old British citizen. We will be travelling around Asia for 8 months starting from January 2004 and have an open jaw ticket. This means that we will fly from London to Bangkok and will then leave 8 months later from Delhi in India. Our plan is to stay in Thailand first for 2-3 weeks, then go to Malaysia for two weeks, then re-enter Thailand for 2-3 more weeks. Then we will travel overland further to Vietnam, China, etc. We have no tickets away from Thailand.

Both me and my boyfriend have called the consulates in our coutries and received totally different information! Two people in the Thai consulate in Finland have told me that we definitely don't need visas if we leave the country before the 30 days from our arrival. Then we can re-enter for another 30 days if we wish. The people at the Thai consulate in London have told my boyfriend that we will need multiple-entry visas, and if we don't have them, we may be flewn back to England straight from the airport. The cost for the visa is 50 GBP. What information is right? Who should I believe in?

[lopburi3]

As strange as it seems both answers are probably right but the fact is you most likely will never get to Thailand without a visa as the airline is unlikely to fly you here without a ticket out of Thailand within the 30 day entry without visa time. Get a visa.

You Consulate is right that you don't need a visa if visit is less than 30 days but you do need a ticket out of Thailand within that time period. Either they didn't think of that or you didn't tell them.

His Consulate is right that you need a visa (unless you have tickets out within 30 days), and if you return to Thailand by air you will probably need a multi entry for the same reason.

[T0MY]

you will need a visa to enter Vietnam, period

[nitro]

MRA,

Here's a good link for you:

http://www.thai-la.net/visa/visalist/index.htm

[thomasjojo]

Two people in the Thai consulate in Finland have told me that we definitely don't need visas if we leave the country before the 30 days from our arrival. Then we can re-enter for another 30 days if we wish.

thats correct. Look into the thai embassy web to see if your citizenship get an Visa on entry.

If they say so, you get 30 days, and can enter again same day if you want and get another 30 days. I did this twice this summer, to Cambodia-

thai Ministry of F. Aff: www.mfa.go.th/web/12.php

[thomasjojo]

some webs/info say your airline ticket have to show that you going out of the country again within 30 days, but mine was 4 months ahead, they do not look at the tickets, as long as you go out /renew the visa 30 days or before. I also overstayed once. with a day. No problem

[george]

Apply for a Thai Tourist visa before leaving home.

[MRA]

Thanks for the replies but I am just as much confused now. Maybe there is no one clear solution to the problem...

Our airline on the way to Thailand and also back from india is the Emirates and they have told us that they don't require us to have the visa to enter Thailand. But the Thai consulate in London says we need a double entry visa for Thailand because we have no ticket out of the country within the next 30 days after arrival and because we want to return from Malaysia. The cost for the visa is 50 pounds. Because our budget is quite low, this is a quite big investment if we really don't need it. I have also told everything that I wrote above to the people at the Thai consulate in Finland and they said we don't need visas.

Has anyone else had an open jaw ticket like ours or only a single ticket, and has any more advise?

[thomasjojo]

to be a bit rude: If you cant afford a 50 quid for a visa, stay at home!

[opalhort]

to be a bit rude:  If you cant afford a 50 quid for a visa, stay at home!

obviously you have never been a 'tourist on a shoestring budget'. 50 quid may mean a lot of money to many people.

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to MRA:

no need to have a visa for Thailand as far as Thai Immigration is concerned if you stay less than 30 days in Thailand but most airlines will not carry you unless you have a confirmed outbound ticket (within 30 days) or a visa for Thailand.

Emirates Airline is very good regarding customer service, but don't talk to the booking office only, call the manager of the airport office from where you plan to depart and ask him/her if they will let you board without a visa and onward ticket.

opalhort

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Apply for a Thai Tourist visa before leaving home.

George is absolutely correct. I think you can get by with a single entry tourist visa if money is that tight.